My day started at 5:45 am after one snooze bar. My ride to Phou Khao Khouay National Park was picking me up at 7:30 and I wanted to enjoy the hotel's breakfast buffet before I went. It was the right decision. The buffet, served from 6:30 to 10:00 was pretty unreal. All of the typical breakfast options, plus dim sum, plus pasta bar, plus salad bar, plus omelet bar. I settled on yogurt and granola, scrambled eggs with tomato, ham and edam, toast and butter, mango juice, jasmine tea, and for breakfast-dessert: cantaloupe and watermelon. I had the watermelon in homage to Elizabeth.
The first day in Laos had been perfect weather. At night, however, the skies had opened up and it had poured rain. I reminded myself that this was the rainy season in SE Asia, and prepared for a wet trek in the National Forest. This worried me some because my sticks don't fare so well in mud or on slippery rock. I was told by the orchid guide to bring: (1) bug spray, (2) good shoes, (3) a rain coat, and (4) a camera. I had 2 out of 4 covered, trusty Deet100 and my point-and-click cannon. My Dr. Martin would suffice for a good shoe. My Marmot hat would have to do for a rain coat, since I didn't bring one of those.
My guide arrived promptly at 7:30. Her name was Lorraine, she was a Frenchwoman in her mid-40s who had come to Laos 10 years earlier with her husband to work as nurses in the French hospital in Vientiane. Her English was passable, but not great. She spoke about the same level of Lao. She had an overt dislike for the Chinese, for Vientiane traffic, and for poachers, including the Chinese (tigers and rhinos and forests) and Thai (orchids). She knew a lot about plants and flowers, especially orchids.
By the time we arrived at the small village on the edge of the National Park the skies had cleared some and the rain had stopped. The village consisted of about 80 families and 300-400 people overall. We met up with our two local guides, phonetically Tee-Ahn-Toe and Boon-Dee (T and B). T was a male in his mid-40s who had recently been elected village leader, a three-year term. B was a male in his mid-60s who told me that he had helped Vietnam for 8 years during the war. Lorraine always did the orchid trek with a village local as a co-guide. On this trek, given my condition, she brought two locals.
The Lao military polices entry and conduct in the National Forest. We gained admittance on their recognition of Lorraine and the locals. I turned my pants into shorts (the sun was fully out and it was getting very hot), sprayed on my deet, and off we went. For the first hour or so, there were no orchid sightings and two near slip-and-falls on wet rocks and mushy leaves. By noon, however, Lorraine had spotted a few of the unique little flowers, T had collected some edible leaves, and all the while B cleared our path with his machete. There was no trail. At 1 pm, B cleared us a 4 x 4 spot beneath the trees for a picnic we ate entirely with our hands. Best meal in Lao! We had hardboiled eggs, green beans from the village with garlic cloves, grilled chicken, the edible leaves T had collected, sticky rice from the village that we dabbed in hot chile paste from the village, and bananas Lorraine had bought along the way. On all four sides we spotted orchids in the tree, including the wispy spider orchid. The lunch was perfect.
By 2 pm we arrived at an impressive waterfall with 7 steps. By 3 pm, we made it to a calm bend of a river that I took a dip in. Considering I had sweat out far more than the 3 bottles of water I had consumed, the cold river water was most welcome. By 4 pm, we made it back to Lorraine's truck. My guides clapped for me and we all exchanged warm hugs. I was the first person with walking sticks to do their orchid trek, which made me proud.
We drove back to the village for a beverage, then made our way back to Vientiane. About 4 kilometers from the city center we were mired in a traffic jam that took us 90 minutes to get through. After about 60 minutes of waiting in smog-filled hell, my bladder could not bear it any longer. Lorraine encouraged me to just step out of the car, walk over to a construction site, and relieve myself. I didn't really need too much encouraging. She made it two car lengths by the time I returned feeling much better.
Two things I found disturbing: (1) rural Laotians burn plastic along with other trash, and (2) urban Laotians invariably wear surgical masks while driving or standing alongside the main artery in and out of Vientiane to cope with the heavy exhaust.
I didn't get back to my hotel until 8. I took a long bath, but decided against going into the city for a foot and hand massage. Too tired.
I leave Vientiane tomorrow morning for Vang Vieng on the triple recommendation of Austin and the two Canadians from Halong Bay.
